With the average response rate for most email campaigns well below even the 1% mark, you can be forgiven for thinking email marketing doesn't work.
It does. Just not the way most people teach it.
In any one month I'm involved in creating email campaigns that reach more than 500,000 subscribers for my private clients, so I keep a close eye on what makes emails most effective.
Here are my top 6 takeaways:
Don't make your email one size fits all. Pushing out the exact same email to your list is a surefire way for your emails to get deleted. Most department stores cater to the woman shopper. If you're a guy and you show up in Macy's they're not going to direct you straight to the Clarin's make up counter. Yet more than 75% of companies who market online do exactly this.
Don't skip A/B testing with your email marketing. Email is the perfect media to do some immediate A/B split testing with because the results are immediate. Every time you want to send out an email, try split testing a different format, or different headline to see which ones pull better. One big takeaway that I found that applies to my clients email marketing is that pretty emails don't pull nearly as well as simple, text based emails. Lesson learned.
Don't ignore your opt-outs. Many people gnash their teeth about people unsubscribing from their list, but here's a different way to look at it. The objective of your email marketing is to develop a highly responsive list. Small lists can be highly responsive just as mega lists of 20,000 people or more can be highly unresponsive. When people opt-out, take notice, but be thankful. You only want people who want to hear from you on your list. But, if they're opting out in droves you may need to take a deeper look. Perhaps you're targeting the wrong people, or your message may need tweaking.
Keep your emails simple. Don't ask too much of the reader. Make your message engaging and direct (not long winded and wordy). Give them simple instructions to follow. Be genuine, write person to person (large corporate to person). They're taking time out of their busy day to read what you wrote.
Make it worth their while.
Don't be a pest. Your success as a marketer depends on two things - your ability to attract new clients and your ability to keep them. Building a real, long term relationship with the people on your list is key. Just because email is a free media doesn't mean you should be sending out multiple emails a day, or wasting their time with poorly worded ones.
Be selective about what you choose to write to them about. Get your emails proof read.
Optimize your emails for mobile. Recent research from Pew and Nielsen shows that more 75% of all smart phone users are checking their email on their phones. Use your email analytics to discover how many mobile users you have and always consider mobile devices when building your emails. For example remember that people click with their fingers not the mouse, so make any links or call to action buttons large, and don't put tiny links together.
It does. Just not the way most people teach it.
In any one month I'm involved in creating email campaigns that reach more than 500,000 subscribers for my private clients, so I keep a close eye on what makes emails most effective.
Here are my top 6 takeaways:
Don't make your email one size fits all. Pushing out the exact same email to your list is a surefire way for your emails to get deleted. Most department stores cater to the woman shopper. If you're a guy and you show up in Macy's they're not going to direct you straight to the Clarin's make up counter. Yet more than 75% of companies who market online do exactly this.
Don't skip A/B testing with your email marketing. Email is the perfect media to do some immediate A/B split testing with because the results are immediate. Every time you want to send out an email, try split testing a different format, or different headline to see which ones pull better. One big takeaway that I found that applies to my clients email marketing is that pretty emails don't pull nearly as well as simple, text based emails. Lesson learned.
Don't ignore your opt-outs. Many people gnash their teeth about people unsubscribing from their list, but here's a different way to look at it. The objective of your email marketing is to develop a highly responsive list. Small lists can be highly responsive just as mega lists of 20,000 people or more can be highly unresponsive. When people opt-out, take notice, but be thankful. You only want people who want to hear from you on your list. But, if they're opting out in droves you may need to take a deeper look. Perhaps you're targeting the wrong people, or your message may need tweaking.
Keep your emails simple. Don't ask too much of the reader. Make your message engaging and direct (not long winded and wordy). Give them simple instructions to follow. Be genuine, write person to person (large corporate to person). They're taking time out of their busy day to read what you wrote.
Make it worth their while.
Don't be a pest. Your success as a marketer depends on two things - your ability to attract new clients and your ability to keep them. Building a real, long term relationship with the people on your list is key. Just because email is a free media doesn't mean you should be sending out multiple emails a day, or wasting their time with poorly worded ones.
Be selective about what you choose to write to them about. Get your emails proof read.
Optimize your emails for mobile. Recent research from Pew and Nielsen shows that more 75% of all smart phone users are checking their email on their phones. Use your email analytics to discover how many mobile users you have and always consider mobile devices when building your emails. For example remember that people click with their fingers not the mouse, so make any links or call to action buttons large, and don't put tiny links together.
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